Paul Weisenfeld is Executive Vice President for International Development at RTI International, an independent nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition by turning knowledge into practice. In this position he leads RTI’s international development practice, which designs and implements programs across a wide range of sectors to help lower- and middle-income countries and communities address complex problems and improve the lives of their citizens.
Before joining RTI, Mr. Weisenfeld served as a foreign service officer for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), achieving the highest rank of career minister in the Senior Foreign Service, and led high-profile initiatives across various international development sectors. During this time Mr. Weisenfeld directed the Bureau for Food Security at USAID, which leads Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative. He also led the Haiti Task Team, charged with coordinating relief and reconstruction planning following the devastating earthquake in 2010 and served as USAID Mission Director in Peru and Zimbabwe. Mr. Weisenfeld received the USAID administrator’s Distinguished Career Service Award, the agency’s highest award. He served in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Mr. Weisenfeld holds an honorary Doctorate in Public Administration from Monmouth College, Illinois. He also holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from Queens College of the City University of New York. He serves on the board of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and is a member of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s (DFC) Development Advisory Council.
